MELBOURNE, Australia — There’s a young woman who looks a lot like Coco Gauff at Melbourne Park for the Australian Open. She has the same fiery, competitive eyes, the same tendency to break out in a giggle in the middle of a sentence and the same number of titles.

After a disappointing US Open, Coco Gauff made changes to her game and her coaching staff. The results have been undeniable.

Aryna Sabalenka has started her bid to become the first woman in a quarter-century to win three consecutive Australian Open titles with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 2017 U.S. 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-3,

Aryna Sabalenka began her Australian Open title defence with a display of power hitting to crush Sloane Stephens 6-3 6-2 on Sunday. It was by no means peak Sabalenka, with the world number one broken twice by her American opponent in a wayward first set in the evening clash at Rod Laver Arena.